Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...

, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada border is in the channel south of Belle Isle. Owned by the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Belle Isle is managed as a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

by the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

through a 30-year lease initiated in 2013; it was previously a city park. Belle Isle Park is the largest city-owned island park in the United States, and Belle Isle is the third largest island in the Detroit River, after Grosse Ile and

Fighting Island Fighting Island is a island in the Detroit River, and is the largest Canadian island in the river. It is part of the town of LaSalle, Ontario, Canada, opposite Wyandotte, Michigan, and downriver from Detroit and Windsor. History Originally po ...

. It is connected to mainland Detroit by the MacArthur Bridge. Belle Isle Park is home to the

Belle Isle Aquarium The Belle Isle Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan. Designed by noted architects George D. Mason and Albert Kahn, it opened on August 18, 1904, and was the oldest continually operating public aquarium in ...

, the

Belle Isle Conservatory The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory (commonly and locally known as the Belle Isle Conservatory) is a greenhouse and a botanical garden located on Belle Isle, a island park located on the Detroit River within Detroit, Michigan. While located ne ...

, the Belle Isle Nature Center, the James Scott Memorial Fountain, the

Dossin Great Lakes Museum The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is an historical maritime museum in Detroit, Michigan. Located on The Strand on Belle Isle Park along the Detroit River, this museum places special interest on Detroit's role on national and regional maritime his ...

, a municipal

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

course, a half-mile (800 m) swimming beach, and numerous other monuments and attractions. It is also the site of a

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

station. The Detroit Yacht Club is located on an adjacent island, connected to Belle Isle by a bridge.

History

The island was settled by French colonists in the 18th century, who named it ''Île aux Cochons'' (Hog Island). They allowed their livestock free range on the island. Following his victory in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, American General Alexander Macomb, Jr. was assigned to this region and owned the island as his estate. He was later appointed as Commanding General of the US Army. A monument to him was erected in the

Washington Boulevard Historic District Washington Boulevard Historic District is a multi-block area of downtown Detroit, Michigan. It consists of structures facing Washington Boulevard between State and Clifford Streets. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Pla ...

in downtown Detroit. On July 4, 1845, a historic picnic party was held on the island; attendees decided to change its name to "Belle Isle" in honor of Miss Isabelle Cass, daughter of Governor (General)

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

. The name ''Belle Isle'' (an archaic spelling of ''Belle Île'') means "beautiful island" in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. The city planned to develop the island as a park, and hired prominent American urban park designer

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

in the 1880s to design it. He is known for his design of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

in New York City. But only some elements of his design were completed. The 1908 Belle Isle Casino building is not used as a

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

facility; rather, it serves for occasional public events. Highlights of Belle Isle include a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and the

(1904). Both the conservatory and the adjacent aquarium were designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, who designed

Cadillac Place Cadillac Place, formerly the General Motors Building, is a landmark high-rise office complex located at 3044 West Grand Boulevard in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was renamed for the French founder of Detroit, Antoine Laumet de ...

and the Ford Rouge Factory, now recognized as city and national landmarks. Belle Isle, river-environed park, Detroit, Michigan, from Robert N Dennis collection of stereoscopic views (extract)

Belle Isle, river-environed park, Detroit, Michigan, from Robert N Dennis collection of stereoscopic views (extract)

Guide and souvenir of Detroit (1891) (14801065063)

One night in 1908,

Byron Carter Byron J. Carter, (August 17, 1863 – April 6, 1908) was an American automotive pioneer. He was a founding partner of the Jackson Automobile Company, and founder of the Cartercar Company. Early life and experience Byron J. Carter was born on Au ...

of Cartercar stopped to help a stranded motorist on Belle Isle. When he cranked her

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...

, it kicked back and broke his jaw. Complications from the injury resulted in his contracting

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

and he died.

Henry Leland Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932) was an American machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln. Early years Henry M. Lela ...

, founder of

Motors, said that "The Cadillac car will kill no more men if we can help it". He hired

Charles Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...

, who established Delco and developed the electric self-starter. This soon became standard on all automobiles. Architect

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and ...

designed Belle Isle's ''James Scott Memorial Fountain'', completed in 1925. Gilbert's other works include the

United States Supreme Court Building The Supreme Court Building houses the Supreme Court of the United States. Also referred to as "The Marble Palace," the building serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of th ...

in Washington, DC. William Livingstone Memorial Light, the only marble lighthouse in the United States, is located on the east end of the island, and features sumptuous materials and architecture. It was named for the president of the Lakes Carriers Association, who advocated safety and navigational improvements in Great Lakes shipping. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the US military used the island park for training. They also staged a re-enactment of the invasion of a Pacific island invasion by the Navy and Marine Corps. The island was temporarily renamed Bella Jima, and Detroiters witnessed an island invasion without the bloodshed. This event was conducted after the successful US invasion of

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

. The 1943 Detroit race riot began at Belle Isle, and spread to other areas of Detroit. 34 people were killed and 433 were injured. At one time, the island housed a canoe concession, which provided rental canoes and stored private ones. Canoe riders often stopped at the nearby Remick Band Shell, which hosted regular concerts from 1950 to 1980. The band shell replaced an earlier facility and provided more amenities for performers and audience members. It was constructed at a cost of $150,000 and was named for resident Jerome H. Remick, who owned the world's largest music publishing house at the time. The Detroit Boat Club operated rented facilities on the island from 1902 until 1996. The marina and building are currently closed, and only rowing activities are still conducted at that location. The Belle Isle Golf Course opened in 1922. The Detroit Yacht Club building dates to 1923 and still houses an active private sailing club; it also offers swimming and other country club amenities. The Activities Building was the site of a restaurant. The Flynn Pavilion (1949) was designed by

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

and used for ice skating rental. A ferry service to the island existed from 1840 to 1957, although the bridge was completed to the island in 1923. Riding stables were housed in an 1863 market building that was relocated from Detroit to the island in the 1890s. The building was disassembled and stored by Greenfield Village in the 2000s. The park headquarters and police station are each located in 1860s-era houses. White deer argonne

From the 1890s, the island was home to a large herd of European

fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

. But this isolated population fell prey to disease at the close of the 20th century as a result of cyclic inbreeding. In 2004, the last of the 300 animals were captured and moved to the

Detroit Zoo The Detroit Zoo is a zoo located in Royal Oak, Michigan, spanning 125 acres and housing more than 2,000 animals and more than 245 different species. It was the first U.S. zoo to feature bar-less habitats, and is regarded to be an international ...

and nature center, located on Belle Isle. The children's zoo on the island and the aquarium closed due to budget constraints. The Belle Isle Aquarium reopened on August 18, 2012, and is now run by the Belle Isle Conservancy. It originally opened on August 18, 1904, and was the oldest continually operating public aquarium in North America when it closed on April 3, 2005. The aquarium was operated by the Detroit Zoological Society prior to the 2005 closure. It is open to the public from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm every Saturday and Sunday, free of charge. The historic building features a single large gallery with an arched ceiling covered in green glass tile to evoke an underwater feeling. Additional recreational options in the early 21st century include a nature center, wheelchair accessible nature trail, fishing piers, playgrounds, picnic shelters, and handball, tennis and basketball courts, baseball fields, and cricket pitch. After years of economic problems, in 2013, the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy. A State Emergency Manager was appointed by the state government to oversee the city's finances. As part of the process, the state proposed taking over Belle Isle and converting it into a state park. Michigan Governor

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...

signed a lease on October 1, 2013, to lease the park from the city for 30 years; while the city council rejected that offer in mid-October, the Michigan Emergency Loan Board opted for the state's proposal on November 12, 2013. It set a 90-day transition period beginning on December 1, 2013, to turn the park operations over to the state. As part of the deal, the state promised to make up to $20 million in improvements to the park over the next three years. Belle Isle formally became a state park on February 10, 2014. Users of the state park entering by car or motorcycle must either pay the standard state park user entrance fee or have a Michigan Recreational Passport sticker on the license plate of their vehicles. There is no charge for those who enter the park on foot or by bicycle. Belle Isle was the top-visited state park in Michigan in 2016, receiving more than 4 million visitors. Since the state took control in 2014, it has invested $32 million in renovation and improvements in the park. The park is one of the termini for the cross-state

Iron Belle Trail The Iron Belle Trail is a set of two trails that will span the state of Michigan. The two trails, one for hiking and one for biking, connects Ironwood, Michigan, Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula and Belle Isle State Park (Michigan), Belle Isle Sta ...

, which consists of separate hiking and biking trails. On August 31, 2020, Belle Isle hosted a city-wide memorial to commemorate 1,500 victims of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic. Mayor

Mike Duggan Michael Edward Duggan (born July 15, 1958) is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician serving as the 75th mayor of Detroit, Michigan since 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Duggan previously served as the Wayne County Prosecuto ...

declared the day as Detroit Memorial Day to honor the victims of the disease.

Events

Auto racing

In 1992, a temporary street race circuit was constructed on the isle for

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

races. The island hosted ten events at Belle Isle from 1992 to 2001, and racing resumed in 2007 as part of the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

and

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' h ...

. On December 18, 2008, the scheduled race for 2009 was canceled. The automotive economic crisis, and its impact on the Detroit area, was the primary reason.

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, ...

did not rule out a return in the future. On September 20, 2011, race organizers gained approval from Detroit City Council to use the updated track and support area on Belle Isle. On October 11, 2011, it was announced that the race would return in 2012. The race continues to be held annually, as of May 2021. The race weekends usually feature

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapoli ...

as well as

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

. Since 2013 the Indycar races run in a format of a doubleheader, with one race at Saturday and another one at Sunday, for the same distance. The starting grid for both races is being determined in two separate qualifying sessions held a few hours before each race.

Music

Grand Canal, Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan, 1898-1905

Plans are underway to renew the tradition of Summer concert band performances for 2018 at the Remick Band Shell. Various Detroit-area concert bands are planning on performing on Sunday afternoons at the Band Shell. For instance, the Heritage Concert Band of Troy is scheduled to team with the Belgian American Association Band for a joint performance on July 29, 2018, at 1:30PM (tentative time). Many of the musicians belong to both concert bands. It was announced that Belle Isle would be the site of

heavy metal band Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed ...

Metallica's 2013

Orion Music + More Orion () may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology * Orion (spacecraft), NASA crew vehicle first launched in 2022 Arts and media Fictional ent ...

Festival, guaranteeing $100,000 in revenue. On December 26, 2012, Detroit Councilman Ken Cockrel Jr. confirmed rumors that the city was in the process of confirming 2014 and 2015 as well to take place at Belle Isle. However, in 2013 the festival series was canceled permanently due to financial constraints.

Soccer

Belle Isle was home to the Detroit Futbol League, but games are now held at the

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Cens ...

grounds due to field conditions at Belle Isle.

Canoe, Kayak and Paddleboat Rental

There are canoes, paddleboats, and kayaks available for rental located at the Flynn Pavilion.

Attractions

James Scott Memorial Fountain

The James Scott Memorial Fountain is a monument located in Belle Isle Park, in Detroit, Michigan. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert and sculptor Herbert Adams, the fountain was completed in 1925 at a cost of $500,000. The lower bowl has a diameter of 510 ft (160 m) and the central spray reaches 125 ft (38 m). The fountain honors the controversial James Scott, who left $200,000 to the City of Detroit for a fountain in tribute to himself.

Belle Isle Aquarium

The Belle Isle Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan. Designed by architect Albert Kahn, it opened on August 18, 1904, and was the oldest continually operating public aquarium in North America when it closed on April 3, 2005. The aquarium reopened to the public on August 18, 2012, and is now run by the Belle Isle Conservancy. The 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) historic building features a single large gallery with an arched ceiling covered in green glass tile to evoke an underwater feeling. The aquarium was operated by the Detroit Zoological Society prior to the 2005 closure. It is currently operated by the Belle Isle Conservancy.

Belle Isle Conservatory

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, commonly and locally known as the Belle Isle Conservatory, is a

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

and

which opened in 1904. Located three miles (4.8 km) east of the city's downtown, on Belle Isle, it covers . The Belle Isle Conservatory was built in 1904, designed by architect Albert Kahn, and rebuilt 1952–1954 with aluminum replacing its original wooden beams. In 1953, it was named in honor of Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who left her 600-plant

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...

collection to the city. Thanks to her gift and subsequent donations, the conservatory is now home to one of the largest municipally-owned

collections in the United States. Rare orchids were saved from Great Britain during the World War II bombing and transported to the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. Due to a lack of maintenance and budget cuts in recent years, the vast majority of orchids have now died. The conservatory site contains formal perennial gardens, annual flower beds, a rose garden, and lily pond garden. The conservatory itself covers more than an acre, features an imposing central dome 85 feet (26 m) high (with a total volume of 100,601 cubic feet), and is organized as a

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

house in the dome, the north and south wings, and a show house. The south wing contains tropical plants of economic importance such as

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

s, oranges,

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

, and

s. The north wing hosts the extensive collections of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

, and

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

s. The show house, remodeled 1980–1981, features a continuous display of blooming plants. The conservatory is currently undergoing renovations, and is closed to the public until July 2019.

Belle Isle Nature Center

The Belle Isle Nature Center (BINC) is a nature center that encompasses approximately 4 acres (1.6 ha) of undisturbed forested wetland on Belle Isle. The nature center provides year-round educational, recreational and environmental conservation opportunities for the community. A Deer Encounter, where fallow deer that once roamed the island can be fed by visitors, is part of a multi-phase project to convert the former Belle Isle Zoo into a nature center focusing on Michigan wildlife, flora and fauna. The BINC also includes a renovated auditorium, a turtle exhibit featuring native Michigan turtles, an indoor beehive allowing year-round viewing of bee behavior, a spider exhibit, and a Creation Station for children's educational programming.

Dossin Great Lakes Museum

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is a

maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...

. Located on The Strand on Belle Isle Park, this museum places special interest on Detroit's role on national and regional maritime history. The museum features exhibits such as one of the largest collection of model ships in the world, and the bow

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek � ...

of the legendary

SS Edmund Fitzgerald SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North Americ ...

Giant slide

A large

playground slide Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide is an example of the simple machine known as the inclined plane, which makes moving objects up and down easier, or in this case more fun. The slide may be flat, ...

was opened in the park in 1967. The slide was closed for two years during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and upon reopening experienced issues with the speed at which riders were descending, which was attributed to the fact it had been freshly waxed.

Statistics

At , Belle Isle Park was the largest city island park (prior to its transfer to the State of Michigan as a state park) and is larger than

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, also designed by Olmsted. Detroit's River Rouge Park is . Prior to Belle Isle becoming a state park, the city's Parks and Recreation Department managed of parks (now approximately ). The Huron-Clinton Metroparks authority manages of parks and beaches; however, this does not include all parks in the area. There are thousands of additional acres of parks in metropolitan Detroit.

Gallery

File:JSMFFULL.jpg, James Scott Memorial Fountain File:NatureCenterInterior.jpg, Interior of the Nature Center at Belle Isle File:Schiller ststue Belle Isle detroit.jpg,

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

, the German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist, statue on Belle Isle File:James Scott Fountain - Detroit skyline.jpg, View of

Downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, downtown tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Lodge Freeway) to the west, Interstate 75 ...

from Belle Isle File:Belle Isle carillon - Detroit Michigan.jpg,

Nancy Brown Peace Carillon The Nancy Brown Peace Carillon is a bell tower containing an electronic carillon on Detroit's Belle Isle Park (Michigan), Belle Isle. It is dedicated to peace and named after Nancy Brown (columnist), Nancy Brown, the pseudonym of ''The Detroit N ...

Clock on Belle Isle File:Detroit Yacht Club Belle Isle.jpg, Detroit Yacht Club in Belle Isle Park File:Detroit old Belle Isle Casino facing Detroit River.jpg, Belle Isle Casino File:Detroit Belle Isle Casino front entrance.jpg, Front of casino off Fountain Circle File:James Scott statue and fountain - Detroit Michigan.jpg, James Scott statue admires the fountain File:FitzgeraldAnchor.jpg,

bow anchor File:PilotHouse.jpg, Exterior of SS William Clay Ford Pilot House File:InteriorPilot.jpg, Interior of SS William Clay Ford Pilot House File:Detroit Skyline 2022-05-15 0726.jpg, A view of downtown Detroit from Belle Isle in 2022 File:Peace monument Belle Isle.JPG, Inscription in front of the Nancy Brown Peace Tower File:Livingstone lighthouse.jpg, William Livingstone Lighthouse on Belle Isle

References

External links

*
Detroit Yacht ClubDossin Great Lakes MuseumAbout Dossin Great Lakes MuseumBelle Island Botanical SocietyBelle Isle Nature CenterFree Belle Isle Tour App
{{Authority control Parks in Detroit State parks of Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Metro Detroit Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan Frederick Law Olmsted works Urban public parks 1845 establishments in Michigan